Calm down, the Paracas skulls are not from alien beings.

Why you should be skeptical of the recent genetic testing done on the Paracas skulls— and it’s not for the reason you might think.

Yesterday, I wrote an article about a set of genetic tests done on a sample from one of the famous elongated Paracas skulls, which are 3,000 years old and were found in southern Peru. The basic news was this: some genetic tests had found DNA in the skulls that was reportedly previously “unknown in any human, primate, or animal known so far.” The implication, helped by the distinctly B-movie “alien” appearance of the skulls, was that the skulls must contain extraterrestrial DNA. Scientists and archaeologists generally believe that the skulls’ strange appearance is the result of intentional deformation practiced by the Paracas culture.

I saw this story floating around in the paranormal blogosphere for a few days before I decided to report on it. I ignored it, frankly, until it was picked up by Yahoo! and the International Business Times, as well as a few smaller news sources around the world. So I wrote a short article, mostly because it was a silly story that was fun to write about after a morning of writing about human trafficking and illegal gold mining.

But I find this story really, really irritating. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the alien part of this story that bothers me. I believe in the possibility of aliens. More than anything, it bothers me that established news sites apparently failed to do even cursory research on the background of the story before publishing it.

Let’s start with a quick talk about aliens. In an infinite universe, it seems foolhardy— even arrogant— to completely dismiss the idea of extraterrestrial life. There are so many galaxies, so many planets, so many suns; across the neverending expanse of space, one suspects that there must be another group of intelligent beings somewhere.

But suspect is the key word there. We have no credible evidence for the existence of alien civilizations. As Carl Sagan said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” And claiming that the Paracas skulls are possibly alien is certainly extraordinary. So let’s look at the evidence— does it measure up?

Well, the short answer is no. First, consider the source: the preliminary results of genetic testing were announced by Brien Foerster, who is the assistant director of the Paracas History Museum.

That’s a pretty impressive title, and I’ll admit that it threw me. That title implies formal archaeological, curatorial, or history credentials, maybe a body of peer-reviewed research projects. That title implies that he has serious academic credibility, and that we should listen to his announcements about his areas of expertise.

None of this is true. Some pretty basic Google research turns up some facts about Foerster that cast his announcement in an entirely different light.

First, his academic credentials: by cobbling information together from the webpage of his company Hidden Inca Tours and his official Facebook page, it appears that he has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. Foerster doesn’t offer any further information about his educational background, including his exact field of undergraduate study. I was unable to find any evidence of an advanced degree.

Foerster’s company, Hidden Inca Tours, is a travel agency that specializes in taking travelers on paranormal tours around the world, but focuses on Peru and the surrounding region. Foerster has also written a number of books on archaeology, including one called “The Enigma of Cranial Deformation: Elongated Skulls of the Ancients,” which he wrote with David Hatcher Childress. Vanderbilt University archaeologist Charles E. Orser once called Childress “one of the most flagrant violators of basic archaeological reasoning.”

So what about his role as assistant director at the Paracas History Museum? How did a paranormal tour operator get that job?

Well, first, the Paracas History Museum is a private museum. It’s owned by one Juan Navarro, who is also its director. Navarro is also listed on the Hidden Inca Tours webpage as a member of “Our Team of Experts.” I was unable to find any mention of academic credentials earned by Navarro, either.

My preoccupation with academic credentials is not meant to downplay the immense wisdom and experience possessed by many people who do not have undergraduate or post-grad degrees. Being smart does not require a college degree. Heck, it doesn’t require any kind of education at all; it’s an innate quality.

However, scientific expertise is not an innate quality. It is something that is gained through years of study and research, both of which are usually completed in an institution that awards successful students degrees upon graduation.

To be fair, I don’t have any special academic credentials that make me an expert in archaeology or genetics. But I’m not arguing that the data is flawed— we haven’t seen the full data, and I’m not qualified to speak on that— but I am arguing that a number of features of the announcement should warn us not to take Foerster’s announcement at face value.

That brings us to the strange nature of the announcement. Foerster announced the results personally, via internet, rather than through a scientifically reputable source.

There are a number of problems with the way he announced the preliminary results. Speaking to Discovery.com, science promoter and skeptic Sharon Hill said “This is an unconventional way of making ‘groundbreaking’ claims.”

Hill added “It’s not supported by a university, but by private funding. The initial findings were released in this unprofessional way (via Facebook, websites and an Internet radio interview) obviously because Foerster and the other researchers think this is very exciting news.”

Exciting news is one thing, but scientific credibility is another. “[S]cience doesn’t work by social media,” said Hill. “Peer review is a critical part of science and the Paracas skulls proponents have taken a shortcut that completely undermines their credibility. Appealing to the public’s interest in this cultural practice we see as bizarre — skull deformation —instead of publishing the data for peer-review examination is not going to be acceptable to the scientific community.”

There’s also the matter of the testing itself. According to Foerster, the geneticist who discovered the allegedly never-before-seen DNA, wants to remain anonymous. If that’s not a red flag for the credibility of your research, I don’t know what is.

The final nail in this story’s coffin, for me, was the revelation that Foerster had appeared on the popular History Channel program “Ancient Aliens” multiple times. In yesterday’s article, I said that the scientific and archaeological communities generally regard “Ancient Aliens” as inaccurate.

“Inaccurate.” That was an understatement.

Archaeologist Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews has this to say about “Ancient Aliens”:

“I find it incredible and frightening that a worldwide distributed television channel that bills itself as ‘The History Channel’ can broadcast such rubbish as Ancient Aliens. If it were an entertainment programme, I’d have fewer worries (although it would still make me cross); it is the implied authority of the channel (‘The History Channel’, not just any old ‘History Channel’) that makes the broadcast of this series so potentially damaging […] A channel that is making claims for its authoritative status, which offers educational resources, has a responsibility not to mislead its viewers (no doubt its executives think of them as ‘customers’). That responsibility is one that all makers and broadcasters of supposedly factual television have, but one that few of them take seriously: the responsibility to check facts.”

Foerster has not said explicitly that he believes the skulls are alien. In a YouTube interview, he said “My intent simply is to find the truth as to who these people were.”

That’s a noble goal. But if you really want to find out who the people of the Paracas culture were, speak to some archaeologists. Make your research transparent and available to the public. Have your data reviewed for journals with stringent requirements and high standards. Don’t use an historical oddity as a cheap hook for your tour company, or to sell books. If your goal is to help enrich humanity’s knowledge of our ancient past, then share your information with us instead of releasing only selected snippets of admittedly preliminary results. Otherwise, we have no reason to believe you.

Do you see an error in this story? Please let us know! We were unable to find as much information about the story as we would have liked, and we would appreciate any corrections or additions that came our way. Write to editor@peruthisweek.com with corrections, additional information, or comments.

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38 Comments

Your article is good and I agree that a degree means nothing or precedence . An archaeologist had been exploring a cave for years with no results of any civilisation lost. One day , he took his little son and his son said " papa look !" Lo and behold , on the high cave ceiling were faint but distinct cave paintings .
I have alresdy discovered I believe , what does this and I have put it into a fiction book for entertainment and let people make of it what they will . The fact is , it is mind boggling none of us noticed before and also an indication of a HUGE SUPRESSION of facts .
When you have eliminated all, what remains though it be implausible is correct - the Great Sherlock holmes . Reason we have not been successful is we think small not in terms of the Galaxy as a whole and frequency . We also forget that physicality adapts to conditions . It is the consciousness of Man makes him man not the body .
These are100% not aliens and it is due to .. I cannot say .. I have also discovered other secrets some of which I will reveal others of which I will not . Man would do much better to study consciousness than bodies for physicality is super seded by this . Man goes around in circles like on a roundabout . It is not logical deductive reasoning . The most improbable thing is often true .
Please people do not follow the scientists or leaders , they are leading you astray . A scientist is just a man with a piece of paper that another man gave him . While we can respect their research , use your information to draw your own conclusions .
We are all eioHU-MAN beings . A paralysed man is not inferior. Study consciousness foot print and it will yield results . I promise for I have discoverd the secrets of the pyramids and more and can do cubic maths to the end of the Galaxy and back : it is because I don't base myself on physicality anymore . Good luck but aliens btw simply mean unknown so you wasting your time naming something , people : it is not in a name we find the truth .

Yes there is a fatal flaw here. You Have not investigated the testing itself at all or the results. You are just suggesting they are suspect because you don't like the credentials of the museum's director. That would be fair enough if the director had done the testing himself but he didn't. I was really hoping for a scientific analysis of the testING and results themselves or even a critique of the lab. so more research needed please.

I don't think the tester - an independent laboratory mentioned aliens. They said no known human DNA - the Denisovians are a new groups recently discovered to co-exist with humans. Maybe these skills belonged to another.

I agree with Charlie. This article is misleading on the "alien" context from the results reported. Sure some people will always believe in the possibility of alien life in the universe. Some may want proof to the extent of a real life form standing in front of them before they say "OK, you have the proof". Some have various personal experiences of their own. While others are content with historical and geological evidence they already see. Each person uses his or her own discernment, and that is their right. To come out and say that a show like Ancient Aliens is all false is pretty brave. These are scientists, geologists, historians all reporting on the documentary. They are putting questions out to great mysteries of history for the public to draw their own conclusion to believe or not to believe in... which they admit they do not have all the answers for. No one does. This is why they are great mysteries. I wonder what your credentials are?

An ad hominem attack on Mr. Foerester does not make you right and him wrong...even if you do very generously allow that aliens may exist. Foerester himself never even mentioned aliens. Calm down yourself.

It never ceases to amaze me how evolutionists jump at the chance torule out any evidence that could threate the validity of their crackhead evolution theory, even without waiting for the further scientific study needed to contradict the early results that will turn the evolution theory into one of the biggest failed theories in history. That is because evolution science has never been a real science anyway. Its been a false teaching to oppose the truth of Gods creation fact. Get ready all you people who have suckelled on the nipple of evolution, you are about to find out who that nipple belongs to. And you actually thought that was milk you were tasting? Really?

No one "suckles" at the nipple of evolution. We simply use it to describe how we believe life came to be without resorting to your fairy tales. And if you don't believe evolution is plausible, let me point this out to you - man has created many species of dogs through breeding. Breeding dogs is simply an accelerated, artificial form of evolution. Instead of the genes of the top individuals being passed on and gradually shaping a species over millenia, we choose traits we like and breed them. You don't have to believe any of this, but before you call it a "crackhead theory," at least try to understand how much of a "crackhead" you sound like yourself when you vehemently discredit evolution in favor of myths written by bronze-age goat herders.

Breeding dogs does not create a crossover of one species to another which evolution claims. A dog is a dog is a dog. There are no evolutionary jumps in evidence in the archeological record dug up so far, or we wpuld all know about it. I suggest you look at the evidence without a jaundiced eye, to coin a phrase.

Evolution may have issues. As a creatonist I can name a few. What annoys evolutionists about creationists is that creationism is bad science.
Poof God created the world. Fine but there appears to be more too it. It would appear that God created DNA and that no two people have the same finger print. How cool is that?
So evolutionists are trying to use the best method we have for analyzing how the world came to be. Sorry but religion ruins good science. It creates assumptions that make for glaring errors in a study that must be based on fact.
Merry Christmas!

I have read that people with 0 negative blood have no earthly connection, too. We are less like positives than a horse from a donkey, and can only have live offspring through medical intervention, ie. Rhogam shots.

Do your research before you put down someone's credentials. Brien Foerster has years of investigating his field, with an incredible knowledge you cannot get from bullshit mainstream education. I salute his perseverance and passion for learning and discovering new and exciting paradigms. We need more free thinkers like him to bring us into a new and enlightened age. Not these stuffy professors who can't think outside the box for fear of their peers belittling their findings. It's a shame there are reporters like this one that help keep us in the dark.

Last March I was able to sit with 6 of these magnificent skulls.
They are an amazing energy. Let me point out one fact that remains Truth as others try to say the heads were "banded" as children... You cannot gain volume by banding the heads!
Love & Blessings

There is ZERO credibility on this mis information post. It does nothing but discredit with zero support information. Just a mal content sceptic. Come back with the actual test results, actual interviews, how about anyone but your self to co sign to this attention getting balloon popper of a post. How about bringimg something other than your opinion to the table.

I appreciate learning about the people that sent in the samples, it kinda read that way in the original article already though didn't it?
Your story is rather pointless, you have nothing to really add.
I enjoy the mystery of the skulls, the fact that they have different bone structure peaks my curiosity. I've known of the skull de formative processes that they had been doin in the distant past, I believe we studied it in high school 20 umpteen years ago. If I remember correctly the princes or princesses would have there heads binded. These Paracas skulls to me seem like they would be the reason for the deforming rituals,
practiced. If their gods had the natural deformity and they went away, seems plausible that the people's left in charge would try to resemble their missing gods, No?
That being said do you have anything positive to add, or do you just jump stories and throw a negative spin, like a bandwagon writer. How original. Be proud

Strawman argument. No one other than yourself is claiming that they are aliens.
That no expert will touch the skulls is a reflection of their intellectual cowardice.
Thank you for entertaining us with your emotional reaction.

There is certainly something strange going on in archeology today - I note that a so called mainstream museum , the Egyptian museum antiquities department will not fully disclose the DNA of Tutenkhamun, that's another one I have a question about , Paracas museum is not the only one not fully disclosing the facts. I agree a seperate transparent test would be ideal - this whole thing is posing more questions than answers. - ps nice article

I read about this for a while I have to disagree. True cultures did this but it doesn't explain the larger eye sockets in the skulls and the increased weight of them versus normal skulls in us today. Scientists can't come up with an explanation to that.

I would have loved any thought given to the subject matter.
Talk about the damn DNA!! What traces are found in it?
I also saw no mention of the fact that the skull is shaped differently in its construction.
It is thicker than any we know and the cranial volume has nothing to do with head binding.
This is invalidating but in no way informative.

Actually he's dead wrong that there is no credible evidence of Extraterrestrial beings. Every time someone tries to show their evidence to a significant number of people they get shut down. How's hundreds of top military officials, astronauts, etc. ready to testify under oath and penalty of perjury that they have seen extremely provocative evidence that there are ETs and major world governments have covered it up? See Citizens Hearing on Disclosure. Research that. Then you have pilots, policemen, etc. testimonials. But those people aren't 'credible' either I suppose. It comes down to, if you have too many rigid beliefs preventing you from paying attention to certain evidence, then you will ignore the most credible witnesses. If you are at least a bit open minded you will be on the right track to finding the truth. Yes the public deserves more 'hard evidence' and it will come. But first we need to collectively demand that the witnesses, contactees, whistleblowers, etc. be given a fair and honest assessment.

Thank for writting this artical I too have been very disappointed with the way scientist discribe there findings and discretely throwing in might could maybe and then go on to explain thier finds as if it was creditable allowing the population to believe it is Thank You Again

In all of the websites I have yet to find the final DNA results. If all we are given are the preliminary findings, then we are open to any interpretation our minds can think of. Thinking is what brains do; it doesn't make them correct. Citing results from unknown sources is dangerous because incorrect conclusions can be drawn, and they cannot be vetted by other professionals. I would like to see the entire body of evidence before I make any conclusions. Any scientific evidence needs to be verified by other scientists before it can be verified as accurate.
I have a BSc in Archaeology from the University of Calgary. I am very curious to know the full results of the DNA tests, and to have them independently verified prior to drawing any conclusions myself.

I love how these building 8 articles begin themselves by attempting to start off as fair and balanced lol. Saying aliens are out there but not here on earth is pacifing to sum and the company line for a while now so you'd think most people go along with it today or at least that's what they think. Can't say it's not true either because their misinformation campaign has been working on most of the sheeple for the last half century. I just think it makes it easier to spot government propaganda, which is what this article is. Calm Down, they all can't see through Ur bullshit. lol yet

The face that someone lacks "credentials" doesn't necessarily mean they are stupid. Throughout history you find men and women who discovered, invented, researched, etc. on a number of subjects without any so called credentials and their assumptions were found to be true years or decades later. I believe in this research and for the ones who don't they should conduct a research themselves to prove this one wrong. This article is irritating

I think this person that is not Peruvian like me has NO grounds to what he says first is a cementery were all 300 skulls are the same so where are the tribes that enlarged their skulls no were to be seen around
Paracas is a desert and this is why they have kept in perfect conditions but again where are the ones who enlarged the skulls
I don't who you are ? have you been to Paracas do you know the Nazca lines they are exactly on a straight line to this cementery and when where the Nazca Lines (by the way have you been there) discovered when a DC6 was flyng over them and the pilot couldn't believe what he saw and returned with a smaller plane so how you can discover gigantic pieces or art NO WAY to be seen from the soil of Nazca so don'T try to fool us we Peruvian's know for a long time there is a very strange civilization from Pisco to Nazca with strange stones with strange signs
So Who are you to spoil what is obvious that there is a mystery still unsolved from this region of Peru what are your interests and why should we worry if they are Aliens Necropsy we should value it and not to worry son Peruvians are not afraid perhaps you are and want to calm yourself through this article or what interest you have to write so lightly and wrongly let us know please
I would suggest you visit us or shut yr mouth,we are the most diverse country in the world with 84 living zones of 106 we have 28 of the 32 climates of the world we are where the amazon is born and one if not the richest sea in the planet our mega diversity in flora and fauna is first or second in the planet to not say firswho are you
Piter

It is understandable from both sides; first not beleiving something when your education and strict logical thinking systems do not allow you, without any proof to where you can grasp too. On the other side, there's the complete mind openness, the limitless imagination, the innocence and lack of prejudice that many people preserve (in spite of or due to the lack of formal education), and dare to start taking research into another direction.
Both have benefits, but locking in any extreme turns people into cripples. Our evolutionary path needs a balance, and allow our people to play (that's the key word) with rare possibilities. Sooner or later we will find something that will take us a step further in understanding. If you don't find what you were looking for, it doesn't mean it should be mocked or discarded, it should only mean you didn't find it. You might or might not find it later, or even something different.
We should note that there is a trend in the "western" world, a mentality that prevades the mechanisms of modern (or complex, as called by the artistic and social qualification) society, and it is cloistering our existence and our vision to a form that suits only its paradigm: a materialistic and consumeristic gear that is turning the masses into idiotic and ignorant working forces and leaving a reduced group of elitists in charge of the course of everything on this planet.
Thia matters because all aspects of our civilization are dependant on this structure and it inevitably gets affected. We, as general public, or even specialists doing research, lack the complete freedom of advancing scientific and social research either because of lack of funding (powers with resources won't allow something to happen if it doesn't suit their gain), or censorship and lack of dissemination.
So before judging something by the usual standards, try to broaden your perception of the issue in turn and leave yourself open to possibilities. It is a very destructive process in this same mentality, to close our vision of totality ever time we learn something new, or make a judgement, or forge an opinion. It will let you sleep in peace with your ego, but in the large run it will leave you vulnerable to an extremist way of thinking.
Try exercising the absorption of possibilities without the usual judgements, instead of hardening your thoughts and using them as a hard shell that makes you feel proud of a virtual intellectual superiority that only you will be aware of.
It is healthy to believe whatever you want to believe, but not to do harm with it. Beleiving that this skulls are alien or time travelers or figments of imagination is as innocuous as beleiving they are the result of some cultural practice, or mutation, or disease, but trying to shut the other views down, or even condemning them with ridicule or emotional disregard (disguised as intellectual standards) is definitely detrimental to the possibility of our understanding and our evolutionary path as a collective.

Paracas sculls.... if you ever studied them have more teeth than humans, have only one parietal plate. WE HAVE TWO.... When cranial deformation is done, you can tell where the board was placed by the shape of the head. This is obviously something different. This is most obviously a new species that was left out because it did not fit with the mainstream conclusion, because these skulls are nothing new. Why is Forester the only one investigating this why is it so hard for people to swallow that this may be alien. It doesn't matter how he presented the info just that he did. who cares if he's not a credentialed archeologist. Several decades ago anyone could go dig $h!t up and talk about it. Egyptian s built the pyramids without any degrees, did a damn good job if not perfect I'd say . To actually look at these skulls and say, oh thats just cranial deformation ,just because mainstream says so is just ignorance. Think for yourself. Have an opinion, dont be afraid to argue a point, because he has dr. in his title. He wipes his but the same way you do. Im interested in truths, and on the way i find a lot of bull and unfinished work. To find the truth you must look at every possible conclusion and have an open mind you cant throw out evidence just because it doesn't fit your theory. What is archeology, but hypothosising about what went down back then. If so we need to reevaluate the whole thing. It's like trying to solve a thousands of year old murder with only half the evidence right now. Archeologists dated the sphinx at 5000 yrs geology proves it to be at least ten to twelve, point being they are not right all the time. Acording to alignments in the stars at that time the 3 most impressive pyramids are probably that old as well. The only pyramid with bodies in it is the step pyramid at sacara. Yet all pyramids are tombs. The point... a child could come up with the crap theory of a mainstream archeologist. Why does the building technology devolve, oldest/lowest blocks most advanced in cutting and placement. You can say whatever you want to the ignorant masses who will never take a closer look for themselves. but my eyes are open, and my head is out of the sand that is mainstream archeology. There is unexplainable perfection going on back then. We still with all our high technology, still can not replicate or explain how it was done and supposedly without the wheel. If they did not have the wheel i asume they did not have pulleys either. Cant explain the pyramids/ cant explain paracas wow we sure do know everything, us humans so damn smart huh cant even look at something that disagrees with what we believe without getting pissy until then the truth will always elude the masses

Why wont they release the data for peer review?? If this was like denisovans or a new part of hominid family tree, these guys would be world famous and probably win a nobel prize in archaeology or genetics.
No he'd rather stick to his psychic tours.
Doesnt make sense unless there is something to hide.
There are too many self righteous assholes in these comments on both sides of the argument. Id trust an archaeology department or university peer reviewed paper quicker than ancient aliens.

The color of your font is hard to read. I had great difficulty making my way through a very good article. However, you'll never dissuade certain people who will say any evidence to the contrary of their belief in alien dna is a government cover up.

As I have seen no claim of Alien but not human. In the Bible Abraham sent scouts looking for the promesses land when they returned they claimed they were like grass hoppers next to the people they found
Giants ? The Bible is claimed to be credible fact if you are a believer evolutionists claim we were primates Wich they themselves have no proof and no evidence of evolution from primate to Human so if we take the Bible that God made us in his own image it's a clear statement that Genetically we are a composite of Gods Image or some othe Being our understanding of a plane would be a winged chariot of fire in ancient context
Just some few hundred years ago it was believed the earth was flat :)
As for credibility I never worked in a Michelin Restarant but all my clients and fellow Colleagues who know my work claim my work to be of Michelin standard if not higher
So is true only if government and their institutions say so ? If that's true then I do not exist as a credible Chef of what I claim to have practiced all my life Your bits of paper have less credibility let's see what you produce because what you produce is fact not a Univerdity degree which only proves you have understanding of knowledge not practical and factual proof that you developed and implicated that knowledge to bring factual results